Chapter 35

  A strange middle-aged voice cut in.

  Row upon row of houses with gaps everywhere that one could slip through, and this person had emerged from the other side of a narrow alleyway. He was tall and thin, with a deep blackness at the bottom of his eyes, a pale complexion, and looked as if he might fall over in the wind.

  He Sheng obviously felt the hand of Chen Jia Yin tremble slightly, and his body subconsciously took a step back. Chen Jia Yin swallowed hard, her calm eyes couldn't hide the fear in seeing the person who came, she simply lowered her head, "I'll go to my classmate's house for a while."

  "Classmate?" He glanced at He Song and the others with a cold gaze, then turned to Chen Jia Yin, his voice hoarse and dry. "Next time, your mom will be back from work soon, let's go, follow me home."

  As he walked a few steps forward, Chen Jiaoyin saw him approaching and suddenly jumped like being pricked by a needle. He shook his head violently and hastily retreated backward, his expression as if he had seen a ferocious beast that devoured humans, filled with fear and panic.

  Everyone realized the unpleasantness of this man, He Shou and Yuan Zhi subconsciously blocked each other, He Shou smiled, "Uncle, going to a classmate's house to play is not a big deal, why be so serious?"

  The man's cold gaze swept over the two boys who were even taller than him, "You young punks are still too green, meddling in other people's family affairs will bring you bad luck."

  Yuan Zhi took out his mobile phone and tossed it lightly, saying calmly: "Domestic violence can lead to imprisonment."

  The man's eyes flashed, and a thick crimson color quickly appeared at the bottom of his pupils. Even his breathing was heavy, like a weak and sick beast being forced into a corner.

  His gaze lingered on Yuan Zhi for a while before slowly turning to Chen Jiaoyan, who was stunned behind them. The girl's face turned pale as soon as their eyes met, and she lowered her head in fear.

  "Alright, go and play!" He let out a faint laugh, the sound of which was like a forced, ear-piercing squeak that made one frown. "I'll get your mom to look for you when she gets back."

  The man finished speaking and slowly backed out along the path, his thin figure soon disappearing into the greenery.

  Chen Jiayin's legs suddenly went soft and she knelt down, staring blankly ahead for a while before tears burst out of her eyes. She slowly bent her knees, tightly wrapping her arms around them, and buried her face in her lap, sobbing uncontrollably the next second.

  The sun moved a bit higher in the sky, its rays becoming even more intense, but despite shining on me, I couldn't feel much warmth.

  They all found some strange marks on Chen Jia's neck, which seemed to be pinched by hand, and some appeared to have been bitten.

  He Sheng recalled the many times he had unintentionally seen bruises on Chen Jia Yin's body, each time she had brushed it off as unimportant. Now the reason was starkly in front of him, yet cruelly unacceptable.

  He Shou's face turned ugly, clenched his fists at his sides, and suddenly leaned forward to push her, saying viciously: "What are you crying about? You're always the most arrogant one. It's just this little thing, cry your ass off, it's not like you can't live without it."

  After finishing speaking, he ignored Chen Jiayin's struggles and carried her on his back. He then shouted at the other two people, "Let's go, find a place to eat, I'm starving!"

  Chen Jiayin wasn't wearing shoes, so she could only let He Shousi carry her like this. After a while, He Shousi scratched her feet and said, "If you're cold, put your feet on my stomach, even though it's separated by clothes, it can still be a bit warm."

  "Why can't I just stick it on your belly?"

  "Hey, don't take advantage of me!"

  They didn't look for a restaurant, but instead found an inn first. Chen Jiayin's appearance wasn't suitable for eating out, so they could only order takeout by phone.

  Today's events were beyond everyone's imagination. After entering the room, no one spoke for a while, and it wasn't good to ask her anything personally. When the takeout arrived, regardless of whether they had an appetite or not, everyone ate some. Afterwards, He Sheng went home to get clothes for Chen Jiaoyan. The two of them were about the same height and build, so their clothes could be mixed and matched. Yuan Zhi naturally followed He Sheng out, leaving the other two waiting in the room.

  He Sheng was very quiet in the taxi, and the child who was already taciturn became even more silent.

  Yuan Zhi looked at her for a few moments and said softly, "Scared silly? Just now."

  "A bit." He Song intertwined his fingers, "Before, Jia Yun said those injuries were accidental, I believed him."

  "It's not your fault either!"

  "It would have been better if I had known earlier."

  "Even if you had known earlier, there's nothing you could have done to help her."

  He Sheng thought for a moment, nodded and said in a low voice: "So it is."

  He Sheng returned home and greeted Wu Shu after rushing upstairs, Yuan Zhi followed slowly behind and also entered the bedroom. He Sheng had already started packing clothes into her bag, she didn't have many clothes, just a few pieces that she kept switching between. Yuan Zhi took a glance at the bag, reached in and pulled out a jacket, replacing it with the new one Yan Bo had bought for He Sheng.

  He said: "Hand-me-downs are insincere, if you give something, it should be brand new."

  He Song looked at him and didn't say a word, following him silently.

  Things were quickly gathered and they rushed downstairs, Wu Shu, who was peeling taro skin at the gate, saw them going out again and asked, "What's the hurry, where are you going?"

  Two little brats have been getting more and more out of control lately.

  He Shuang said with a smile, "Something's up."

  "Don't worry, I'm here, no one will get lost."

  It's because of this careless ancestor that you're worried, isn't it? Wu Aunt reminded helplessly, "Be careful on the road."

  "Got it."

  The two of them rushed to the hotel in a flurry, and when they entered the room, He Shou Si and Chen Jia Yin were sitting at the foot and head of the bed respectively. The atmosphere was somewhat strange, but there was no clue to be found.

  He Shouci saw them coming in and got up to sit on a chair on one side. Yuan Zhi walked over, looking at him suspiciously, "What's wrong with you? Your face is so red?"

  "It's nothing." He waved his hand irritably and then glared at Chen Jiayin with a hint of embarrassment.

  Chen Jiayin automatically ignored his unpleasant gaze, took the clothes to the bathroom, and since she had already taken a bath earlier, she quickly came out again, returning the black down jacket in her hand to He Shousi.

  "Thanks!" Her eyes were still a bit red from crying earlier, but she smiled and said it anyway.

  He Shouzi hesitated for a moment before awkwardly accepting it.

  The room fell silent again. He Sheng looked at her sitting beside him and couldn't help but ask, "Are you still planning to go home?"

  Chen Jiayin shook her head without hesitation, her voice was not loud, but exceptionally firm, "No, I never want to set foot in that place again."

  As if remembering something, an extremely disgusted expression appeared on his face.

  He Sheng nodded, "Then what are your plans now?"

  "Let's wait for my mom to come first, then we'll discuss it."

  They thought of two possibilities, one was that Chen Jiaoyan and her mother and younger brother would leave the house together, life would be harder afterwards, but they could still make a living. On the other hand, what she least wanted to see but was most likely to happen was that her mother would persuade her to go back, life was the same everywhere, enduring for a while was just for a while.

  Several people thought about countermeasures for the worst possible outcome for an entire afternoon, but they never could have imagined that the actual result would be even more unimaginable and chilling.

  exhibit

  Jia Yun's mother, Zhang Shuwen, was summoned by phone after dinner, wearing a beige cotton-padded jacket, black casual pants, and a pair of large sunglasses, carrying two very large luggage bags, looking flustered.

  As soon as she entered the room, she looked at He Song and the others first, bowed her head and said in a low voice: "Thank you all today."

  He Shouji smiled and waved his hand repeatedly, "Nothing, nothing."

  Chen Jiayin got up from bed and walked in front of her, shouting "Mom!" with a crying voice.

  Zhang Shuwen helped her tidy up the hair by her ears and forced a smile, "Thanks for your hard work."

  Chen Jiayin shook her head, and the next second tears fell down. She trembled and tightly grasped Zhang Shuyuan's hand, with a force that turned her knuckles white. "Mom, let's go? Is it okay? We can live well even if we leave this place, there's no need to stay with that man. I beg of you, mom, let's go!"

  Zhang Shuwen repeatedly wiped away the tears on Chen Jiaoyan's face that couldn't be dried, and the long silence made Chen Jiaoyan's jumping heart sink down bit by bit.

  "Mother!" She couldn't help but add another cry, her eyes filled with almost overflowing entreaty.

  "Jia Yun, Mom can't leave. This is my second marriage and I don't want to be a failure again. I don't want to face the future alone one day. Your uncle Zhou may have a bad temper sometimes, but most of the time he's still good."

  These words made three other onlookers freeze in shock at the scene.

  Chen Jiayin's eyes widened in disbelief, and tears gushed out like a dam breaking, "So for your marriage I have to endure?"

  The heating in the house was sufficient, and everyone wasn't wearing a jacket. Chen Jiaoyan suddenly pulled down her collar, pointing at her neck with trembling fingers, gritting her teeth: "You open your eyes wide to see clearly, these masterpieces were all done by that scoundrel, he wants us mother and daughter to serve one husband together, do you still think he's good? Do you know how easy it was for me to escape today? That house is a hell in my eyes, do you understand? And I've been living there for five years because of your so-called marriage."

  She raised her hand and deftly brushed away the sunglasses on Zhang Shuwen's stiff face, revealing a pair of narrow eyes that were extremely beautiful and radiant despite bearing the marks of age, if not for the purplish-green bruise.

  "Look at yourself, with a face that's almost unbearable to see, and you still think he's good? Tell me what's good about him? Mom, tell me!"

  Zhang Shuwen kept her head down, her face pale and expressionless, her eyes empty as if she had no soul. After a long time, she finally took out a passbook from her pocket and handed it over, "This is all my savings, take it, save some for when you grow up." She also pointed to the luggage on the ground, "I brought all your clothes, buy whatever is missing yourself."

  After finishing, she stuffed the bankbook into Chen Jiaoyan's hand, took the sunglasses and put them back on, turned around and was about to leave. She didn't choose to take Chen Jiaoyan away with her, nor did she choose to leave Chen Jiaoyan behind, but instead directly abandoned this daughter.

  Chen Jiayin threw the bankbook and grabbed her, blocking her way. Her face showed extreme sadness and fear, "Mom, what do you mean? Why are you giving me money?"

  Zhang Shuwen looked at her disheveled and unfamiliar daughter through black sunglasses, "Jia Yun, I'm sorry, mom's ability is limited to this. Since you don't want to go back, then leave. Mom won't force you, it's better to be far away, but mom can't leave, your brother is still young, he needs me, he needs a complete family, I can't ruin him."

  After finishing speaking, she slowly pulled down Chen Jiaoyan's hand that was tightly grasping her sleeve, and the woman in her 40s didn't have the courage to look at her own daughter again.

  She almost ran out in a fluster, and even after running very far, she could still hear the extremely desperate wails of questioning behind her: "But I'm your daughter, why did you give birth to me only to not want me now?"

  Chen Jiayin fell to the ground with a thud, slowly crawling forward, her soft sobs turning into loud wails. Her fists clenched and pounded the ground fiercely as she cursed Zhang Shuyuan for being irresponsible, her deceased father, her three-year-old brother, the devil-like stepfather who had tormented her for so many years, and most of all, herself, for having a fate worse than trash.

  No one had expected this scene to unfold, and it took He Shou a long time to move his stiff legs. He then numbly walked towards Chen Jiaoyan, squatting down in front of her and gently patting her back with a light touch. He didn't know what to say at that moment, because any words seemed pale and powerless.

  Yuan Zhi tightly grasped He Shuang's icy hand, the little girl was trembling all over. When Zhang Shuwen rushed out that moment, he heard He Shuang mutter to herself: "Jia Yun is just like me after all."

  The same thing? The same is not needed, it's a burden for others, and ultimately faces the fate of being abandoned.

  He turned around, hooked his arm around He Song's neck and pulled her into his arms, stroking the back of her head, pale-faced and muttering: "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, we're not afraid!"

  The author has something to say: Yesterday marked the official end of the New Year's holiday! Ahhh! It's going to be even busier, with manuscripts being thrown into the manuscript box every day.

  PS: I originally planned to take a break tomorrow as usual, but since many of you are waiting anxiously, I will still post a chapter, although the word count won't be too high, please forgive me!

  Comrades, enjoy reading! ^_^